Letter to the Editor

Candidates respond to questions

Thursday, November 1, 2018

EDITOR’S NOTE: McCook City Council candidates were given a chance to respond to the following letter. We received responses from candidates Bruce Baker and Jared Muehlenkamp and a joint letter from incumbents Mike Gonzales and Gene Weedin. Dr. Mike Nielsen’s original letter is reprinted below, followed by the responses.

Dear Editor,

We are fast approaching election day for McCook’s City Council. I am concerned about some of the following issues and you should be too:

1. Tree limbs and brush are piled on streets and in alleys waiting for the City to pick them up. It is frequent that these piles are left 3 or 4 weeks or more before the City gets around to removing them. It was not this way in the past. I have always hauled my own brush directly to the brush pile, but not everyone can. Our City needs to be kept clean of such piles and I would like to know what each candidate would do to address such poor service.

2. I have read in the McCook Gazette over time about its financial issues.

The City got a loan to purchase much needed modern breathing apparatus for the fire department. The water department loaned between $700,000 and $800,000 to other departments which is to be paid back eventually. Even with this much cash on hand, the City Council voted to raise our water rates.

The Public Safety Center is paid for so now there is a push not to give the taxpayers the benefit of the reduced debt payment and to have another major project to replace it. City employees are given cost of living raises that are above the cost of living increases as determined by the Federal government. The total indebtedness of our City has never been published as far as I know.

The County Assessor had a massive increase of real estate property values a year ago which gave the City a windfall tax increase. The mill levy was not reduced, but my office building assessment was increased 93% and so were my taxes increased as much.

One candidate has already expressed his opinion that more sources of revenue need to be found. How will each of the candidates restore responsible financial practices so that McCook can become an affordable place for people to live and work here?

Each of us must ask these 5 candidates to lay out how they will make changes for responsible city government. McCook’s future depends in part on the answer to these questions.

Respectfully,

Dr. Mike Nielsen

McCook, Neb.

Response from Bruce Baker

Earlier this month a current City Councilor told me McCook residents were "apathetic and didn't care," when it came to their local government. I don't believe that to be true but I do think they know when someones not listening.

Dr. Nielsen's letter and the conversation it triggered is a prime example. If you attended nearly every City Council meeting over the last 10 years you wouldn't find the information I suspect today's candidate responses will provide, and I hope to change that going forward. Thank you to him and so many others over the years for speaking up.

In response to question 1 on tree limb/brush buildup:

It's not that complicated, although, city leadership would have you believe otherwise.

If city services are lacking in an area they weren't previously it's because resources/staff have been prioritized to something else.

As a City Councilor, I would advocate for openness and communication when it comes to scenarios like this. If a shift in priorities occurs city leaders should have no problem explaining why in a public forum. If I were on City Council they would also have to explain why the shift wasn't already communicated to the public. Accountability is key to oversight.

In response to question 2 on city financial issues and rate hikes:

Both incumbents, Mike Gonzales and Gene Weedin, voted against Councilman Jerry Calvin's 2017 effort to reduce city merit increases to a level closer to the Consumer Price Index. I would revisit this and support tying COLA to the regional CPI, as it was under previous Mayors. City Manager Nate Schneider also spoke out against Calvin's effort and said it was akin to treating employees differently. However, Schneider had no issues advocating and ultimately receiving approval for one employee to receive a 17% wage increase this year. He did so without so much as publicizing a wage study supporting the need for the increase. We need engaged councilors and the kind of accountability that wage study would have provided.

Mayor Gonzales recently indicated council members come to meetings prepared and that is why they don't discuss items in public. I don't believe that. Just last month City Council approved on second reading the sale of a vacant city lot adjacent to a rundown trailer park on East A Street. The property was sold to a local business owner for a price of 70 cents per square foot. In 2014, City Council also approved Mayor Gonzales to purchase a vacant city lot next to his Norris Avenue home at 44 cents per square foot. If it seems odd to you that Norris Avenue property would be nearly half the price of property on East A Street, you're not alone.

When government policy is formed behind closed doors without open discussion, it too often benefits a select few at the expense of the many. For most of the last decade I have been an advocate and a watchdog for the residents of McCook and I will proudly continue to do so if elected next week.

Very sincerely,

Bruce E. Baker

Response from Gene Weedin and Mike Gonzales

This is a response to a letter of Dr. Michael Nielsen which appeared in the Gazette on Oct. 25, 2018.

There are many questions which Dr. Nielsen asked in his letter but there are two topics which we will attempt to cover in our response.

His first question deals with the collection of tree limbs and brush. This is a free service provided by the city of McCook to its residents. Many other communities in Nebraska charge to come and pick up such trash. The city of McCook has one individual whose job is to cover the entire city of McCook picking up items such as tree limbs and brush. He works for the Transfer Station Department. Whenever someone is on vacation or sick this particular individual then has to stop his collection and attend to the duties of the absent person. Thus the pile of tree limbs and brush may sit for a few days but will be eventually picked up and hauled away.

There is an established procedure for such a concern as this. The individual should first call the city offices (345-2022) and express their concern. This concern will then be forwarded on to the department head. It then becomes their responsibility to see that the concern is addressed as quickly as possible. The current City Council believes that its function is to set policy and see that these policies are then carried out by city staff, not to be directly involved in the day to day operations of the city. This is the responsibility of the department heads.

The second topic we want to address is questions about financial matters of the city of McCook. There are too many to attempt to address in a short letter to Gazette. If Dr. Nielsen or any resident of McCook would like to visit with us please contact us, our phones numbers are listed at the bottom of this letter, and we will be very glad to meet and explain the financial dealings of the city.

But there are a couple of points we would like to make. Number one, the City Council is not responsible for setting the valuation of Dr. Nielsen’s office building or home. This is the responsibility of the County Assessor. The current tax levy for the city of McCook is 0.349044 per $100 of property valuation. When one compares the tax levy for the city of McCook against the other 30 First Class cities in Nebraska we compare very favorably. When one ranks the levies, lowest to the highest, McCook is in the bottom one-third of cities for levies. During the past four years the city of McCook raised the levy only once by three cents. From 2002 to 2018 the levy was raised only once. This year alone the city of York is proposing to raise its levy by 8 cents and Ralston is looking at raising its levy by 10 cents. We use the examples of York and Ralston because they have the same approximate population as McCook. Cities around McCook have the following levies: North Platte 0.442644, Holdrege 0.45967, and Hastings 0.449687. The majority of towns that have a lower levy than McCook are located on the Interstate and have annexed valuable commercial property (Kearney and York) or are a large trade hubs (Norfolk, Columbus, Scottsbluff/Gering).

At the first meeting when the current budget for 2018-2019 was explained by city staff no one appeared to express any concerns on the financial situation of the city. Then we went through three readings of the budget before it was finally adopted. Again no one appeared at any of the readings with concerns. We believe that the City Council has been as transparent as possible in its financial practices. The audit firm which annually does a review of our budget has commented how financially sound the city of McCook is with its budget. If you have concerns you should call any council member to get an explanation. Remember that the county and school district do not go through this many public meetings to adopt their budgets.

Dr. Nielsen is correct when he states that “McCook’s future depends in part on the answers to certain questions.” One of the most important responsibilities of the McCook City Council is to exhibit responsible financial practices. We believe the City Council has displayed this during the past four years. The residents of McCook want and demand certain things which will make McCook an affordable place for people to live and work.

We want to thank the residents of McCook for the privilege of serving on the City Council for the past four years and hope that we have made McCook a better place to live and work.

Gene Weedin

Mike Gonzales

Response from Jared Meuhlenkamp

1. Tree limbs and brush are piled on streets and in alleys waiting for the City to pick them up. It is frequent that these piles are left 3 or 4 weeks or more before the City gets around to removing them. It was not this way in the past. I have always hauled my own brush directly to the brush pile, but not everyone can. Our City needs to be kept clean of such piles and I would like to know what each candidate would do to address such poor service.

I visited with a few different individuals some from the City and other outside of the city offices to get a grasp and formulate a response to this. I realize that the trees and brush piles along the street can be an unsightly problem, we are also lucky to have tree and brush removal as a part of what our city provides since this isn't always offered in all cities, most have to pay a lawn and landscaping company if they cannot do it themselves. I was told that this service is paid for by the trash removal and transfer station revenues. There is currently only one individual on staff dedicated to this service the entire area. In my findings, to hire another full time individual, the City of McCook would spend an additional $50,000 in wages, insurance and benefits. That would amount to an additional $1.20 to everyone's residential solid waste removal bill per month.

We do need to put our best foot forward but I do think there are some other projects that are more crucial and need immediate attention, particularly on the general fund side. For example, city roads and curbs are in desperate need of repair and there are existing drainage problems that need to be addressed. One thing that I can bring to the table is an ability to blend public and private groups together to benefit McCook. A lot of the general fund projects such as a possible new swimming pool, potential Auditorium improvements and potential ballpark upgrades would benefit from volunteer efforts. I am the current Rotary President, some of the projects may fit nicely into what we do for our community and those in need. Also, the McCook Optimist Club is very active, along with many other community organizations to provide manpower to make these projects come to fruition. We have very strong and active community volunteer core that would help us come together as a community if we empower some of these clubs and individuals to help those that aren't able.

2. I have read in the McCook Daily Gazette over time about its financial issues. The City got a loan to purchase much needed modern breathing apparatus for the fire department. The water department loaned between $700,000 and $800,000 to other departments which is to be paid back eventually. Even with this much cash on hand, the City Council voted to raise our water rates. The Public Safety Center is paid for so now there is a push not to give the taxpayers the benefit of the reduced debt payment and to have another major project to replace it. City employees are given cost of living raises that are above the cost of living increases as determined by the Federal government. The total indebtedness of our City has never been published as far as I know. The County Assessor had a massive increase of real estate property values a year ago which gave the City a wind fall tax increase. The mill levy was not reduced, but my office building assessment was increased 93% and so were my taxes increased as much. One candidate has already expressed his opinion that more sources of revenue need to be found. How will each of the candidates restore responsible financial practices so that McCook can become an affordable place for people to live and work here?

If you need to see the financial status of the City of McCook you can attain it by contacting Leann Doak, as well as the City Manager Nate Schneider at the city office 308.345.2022. There isn't currently any sales tax debt nor is there any general fund debt. I talked with city officials about the cash on hand for the Water Department. The general consensus was that the cash on hand is a need to update, repair and maintain the infrastructure we currently have, these types of repairs and updates are very costly unfortunately. It is a good thing to have this money on hand since emergencies can and will arise. If we were to take out loans for these large expenses McCook would experience large financial debt that would incur interest. Further, if small increases aren't made large rate increases are inevitable. To make sure a financial crisis does not occur the city works with a financial expert to forecast costs and expenditures. This ensures that current and future needs are met.

As Dr. Nielsen pointed out, this type of large scale increase is problematic regardless of the form. Dr. Nielsen expressed concerns regarding property tax increases. I can empathize with Dr. Nielsen. I own a building in downtown McCook and I have experienced a recent jump in the property tax as well. I prefer a small incremental increase opposed to a large scale jump. While I do not enjoy paying more taxes I also want to make sure the city has the funds to provide necessary services. Also, if you look at the property taxes we pay compared to other communities our size, McCook is very reasonable.

Jared Muehlenkamp

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